The global cheese market witnessed growth in recent years due to growing fast food industry. In addition, the high nutritional value is another factor contributing towards market growth. Perishable nature of cheese and stringent government regulations are the major growth barriers to the market. However, product innovation provides a huge opportunity for the market players.

In 2012, the global cheese market by product type was dominated by Italian cheese which accounted for 40.5% of the overall share, followed by other types of cheese that accounted for 27.7% of the market share, respectively. Soft cheese which contains considerable quantity of vitamin D and calcium which are good for keeping boneshealthyis expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.2%from 2013 to 2019. Fresh cheese due to their nutritional qualities, unique taste and increasinghealth consciousness among people is expected to grow at a rate of 7.0% from 2013 to 2019.

Europe dominated the global cheese market and accounted for over 38.8% of the global demand in 2012 followed by North America which accounted for 32.7% share for the same year. However,in the future, Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market with an estimated CAGR of 7.9% from 2013 to 2019.Economies such asJapan, India and China are expected to be the major contributors to this growth. Increasing consumer preference towards cheesy cuisine,rising disposable income and population are the major factors contributing to the growth of cheese in this region.

At regional level, the U.S. is the largest market followed by France. The U.S. market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% from 2013 to 2019. Increasing snacking habits of consumers and rise in more cheesy ethnic cuisines such as Mexican and Italian are the major factors contributing to the market growth in this region. While economies such as Brazil, Italy and Argentina offers huge market opportunities.

There are many brands available in the market;however, very few have a significant market share.The rest of the market is occupied by various small and private players. Some of the major players of the market are GroupeDanone S.A., Kraft Foods Group, Inc, Saputo Inc, and Arla Foods, Inc.